Wedding photography - Style & Serendipity

There's this balance I feel I need to maintain in my professional photography, and especially with weddings. The photos I take, need to solidly be within the style that I show on my website - this is what my clients hired me for. On top of that though, there is the urge within as an artist, and as an obligation to my clients, to produce more. To deliver photos with a little extra. Something slightly different. I want to expand what I do, and expand on my style and 'look'. So with every shoot and every wedding, I'm always looking for Read more inside...

Tips on photographing dancers and ballerinas

Photographing a talented dancer / model, Anna L Russel (Instagram ), in the studio, I wanted to think further than just sequences. Recently I have moved more to thinking in terms of larger projects or longer-term projects, even if just over a single photo session. I liked the results from the first few jumps Anna did - explosive movements within which she's momentally hold a pose before landing again. I don't know much about dance movements or what would be the perfect execution of a dance move ... which would then affect my Read more inside...

Best photography purchases of 2017

It's that time of the year again - the list of Best & Worst Photography purchases of 2017. Same as with previous years' lists of best photography purchases – 2016 | 2015 | 2014 – I would love to hear what camera gear you bought that you loved ... or didn't love. As before, there are two book prizes to be had, chosen by random number generator. Here then is my list of my best photography purchases of 2017, along with the reasons why I think they were good decisions. I also add a few items that I was less excited about. Same as last year, I was a Read more inside...

review: Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS lens

This review of the Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS lens (B&H), is split into two parts: In this review article we will look at lens sharpness and other important factors. The accompanying review article specifically looks at the bokeh of this lens compared to other 85mm lenses in its class. This is an important update of their 85mm lens, since it includes stabilization. The legendary Canon 85mm f/1.2L II (B&H) (in both incarnations), is much loved by photographers, even to the point where some ascribe some near-mythical quality Read more inside...

review: Bokeh of the Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS lens

In the accompanying review article, the Canon 85mm f/1.4L IS lens (B&H) really stood out in terms of image sharpness. Here I want to linger a bit on the bokeh of this lens, especially as compared to the much-loved Canon 85mm f/1.2L II (B&H).
The comparison includes these three lenses, since they are in the same league:
Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS lens (B&H)
Canon 85mm f/1.2L II (B&H)
Sigma 85mm f/1.4 ART (B&H)
Please also check out the review: Canon EF Read more inside...

review: Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 Lens

I'm a bit of snob when it comes to the sharpness of lenses. Vintage lenses and lenses such as the Mitakon Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95 are the exceptions - they have a specific character. Modern lenses though - I want them sharp. As a friend once said, there's sharp, and then there's stuff you can shave with. Until now, I’ve had no native Sony lenses - just a drawer full of vintage lenses for the Sony - so I had to go out and buy a proper Sony FE lens to use with the only A7R III. Since I use Nikon cameras for the serious work, I couldn't justify the Read more inside...

review: Mitakon Zhongyi Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95 lens

The Mitakon Zhongyi Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95 (B&H / Amazon), is an immediately impressive lens - it has that unusually wide aperture. Zero point nine five. Just how good is it then, you may well ask. Lenses with super-wide apertures tend to show some softness and optical aberrations when used wide open. Similarly then with the Mitakon Zhyongi - there are definite optical flaws, but this also adds to the character of the images you get with this lens. It's not just the super-shallow depth-field that defines Read more inside...

Dramatic portraits: Hollywood Portrait Lighting

Shooting for my portfolio in the studio with a model, Kimberly Jay, I wanted to create sets of feminine portraits that looked dramatic, and straddled the boudoir photography genre and had a Film Noir look to them. The classic look of Hollywood portrait lighting has long drawn me, and with a set of Litepanels Sola 4 LED Fresnel Lights (B&H / Amazon), it is a look that I am still trying to finesse.
Other photo sessions where I have drawn on the Hollywood look:
Lighting a vintage styled boudoir photo session (model: Read more inside...

Photography composition: Tilted horizons in photographs

A disconcerting angle perhaps with this photograph's composition - still, there is a dynamic balance of sorts. Because Anelisa is 'upright' / vertical in the photo, it matches our sense that vertical and horizontal lines should be just that. Still, everything else is at a dizzying angle. While the horizon is at a slant, I placed her vertically in the composition, which hopefully creates a balance when we look at the photo.
I am not particularly fond of tilted horizons or tilted photos (also known as the "Dutch angle" or Read more inside...

Portraits with vintage lenses

That crazy bokeh there is via the Mitakon Zhongyi Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95 (B&H / Amazon), taken at widest aperture, giving this wafer-thin depth of field. Even though this is a new lens, I would classify it as a classic or vintage lens. It is manual focus, and gives that delicious look to images exactly because of that DoF and bokeh. In terms of the composition, I like how the blue lights in the foreground is echoed by the same lights in the background.
How this photo session with Anastasiya came about ...
My friend, Parker J Read more inside...